Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I hate to be the unnecessary and unprompted bearer of bad news (eh, OK. I really don't "hate" it), but a win at the Belmont by I'll Have Another isn't going to "save" horse racing. Matter of fact, it likely won't even temporarily invigorate the long suffering sport. Why not? Because like many other things that were popular in the 1950's (cigarettes, telegraphs, sexual harassment, boxing), horse racing has just fallen out of favor with the majority of the sporting public. And I get it. Some don't like how the animals are treated, while others just don't find it all that intriguing when compared to all the other options now readily available at the spectator sport buffet...

Fine, to each their own. I just wanna make sure all of you out there are ready to deflect the hype that's sure to come your way should that horse do what no other horse has done since 1978. He probably won't win, by the way (11 horses since '78 have won the 1st two legs only to falter), which will make all of this completely unnecessary, but per usual I just want to make sure my followers are out ahead of the curve and can be confident in knowing that there's no way that a sport whose main demographic currently includes men toting oxygen tanks, is going to find it's way back into the main stream. If they could somehow breed and race a pink horse? Then maybe we can revisit this discussion...

For now, I'll just have to be content discussing other sports that we as a viewing public actually care about for more than 3 days out of the year. One that's actually at the "quarter pole" as we speak. Hear that? Horse racing reference. Ah yes, the sport of kings. And by kings, I obviously mean men toting oxygen tanks...

Thursday, May 17, 2012

There I was, steaming home from work after Josh Beckett's 2 1/3 inning debacle, ready to rip into Red Sox fans and their fair weather nature (don't worry, I wasn't sticking up for Beckett, either). I even had a nice little analogy ready, with Sox fans playing the role of the whiny and entitled Winklevoss twins. Appropriate, right? Seeing as the whole Facebook story does have an inherent Boston connection. But then, after thinking it over for a while, I realized that this was probably one of those times where cooler heads should prevail, and with a few friends echoing that sentiment, the Winklevii hit the cutting room floor with little chance that they will ever return. That is unless a set of twins show up in professional sports (hockey doesn't count) that make me wish I were prematurely deceased. Williams Brothers, I'm looking in your general unitard clad, tennis playing direction...

So, in lieu of another piece from me that voices my displeasure with the state of sports fandom here in New England, I've decided to hit you with some news and notes. I'll still be voicing my displeasure, mind you, it just won't be directed at the PinkHats...for once...

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Kevin Youkilis. Or should I say, Wall Pipp 2.0. Yep, I've got Will Middlebrooks fever over here, and I'm ready to run with it. To the point where I can easily imagine that if I were still in college, I'd probably already be playing a version of the 2013 or even 2014 Red Sox season with Iglesias and Middlebrooks manning the left side of my undoubtedly World Series contending lineup. I'd probably also have an aging Ichiro leading off and hitting 30-35 bombs, and have my team playing in a sick waterfront ballpark that I modified using my vast accumulation of bonus points, but the point is Middlebrooks impressive play has provided a spark. A glimmer of hope, if you will, in what's unfolding as an otherwise unremarkable and likely "disappointing" season...

Oh and for those who might not know who Wally Pipp was, he's the guy whose random headache was more or less responsible for Lou Gehrig's disease. Yeah, you might have to take a few liberal steps to come to that conclusion, but check it out. It's no joke...

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

There are few things more American, more capitalistic, than the NFL Draft. More specifically, there are few things more American than the analysis of the NFL Draft. A full blown cottage industry all in itself, it's inhabited almost exclusively by those who have themselves, in a best case scenario, once been fired from the position that they themselves are now trying to critique. I'm not trying to call them out as "uninformed" or "unqualified", they're far from it, I'm just appropriately labeling this event. Not as a true evaluation and unveiling of new talent, but just merely as another form of advertising. Advertising for the NFL and it's brand of entertainment. Which is why I have those two stone cold pimps at the top of the page sharing the same picture. They're both kings in their respective worlds of advertising, and while one may smoke a few more unfiltered cigs than the other, they both unapologetically go about their work, filled with the confidence that their methods, while not the tendencies of the masses, are more than capable of getting the job done...

That's what Bill Belichick is in terms of the NFL Draft. He's the Draft's Don Draper. As efficient and successful as he is mysterious and unpredictable. Someone that uses every angle to his advantage, and let's their track record speak as to why they never feel the need to explain their actions. It's like Brad Pitt says to Jonah Hill in Moneyball, "You think it's a problem us having to explain ourselves. Don't". And these two men have never lost any sleep over wondering if those within their industry have made heads or tails of the decisions they've made. Something you have to feel contributes directly to the fact that they find themselves at the top, and are often considered geniuses in their respective fields. Fictional or not...

I've got more on that, and some notes on the Sox, but if you're looking for reaction to Rondo and Rose, you've come to the wrong place. There is a good chance I may have a video of a monkey riding a dog, though, if you'll allow that to substitute for some talk about the NBA. OK, maybe not this week, but usually there's a pretty good chance of that going down, and you have to admit, it would probably just as entertaining as discussing a league full of floppers, whiners and prima donnas...